This bill modifies the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to allow unobligated balances of amounts made available to the Bureau of Reclamation for western water infrastructure to be made available to Reclamation for FY2026-2031 to provide financial or technical assistance for (1) groundwater recharge projects, (2) aquifer storage and recovery projects, or (3) water source substitution for aquifer protection projects.
Every Drop Counts ActThis bill expands the Bureau of Reclamation's Small Storage Program, which is a grant program for small surface water or groundwater storage projects in certain western states.First, the bill expands the types of projects that are eligible for grants under the program. Specifically, the bill makes a project eligible for a grant if the project (1) has water storage capacity of recharges no less than 200 acre-feet and no more than 150,000 acre-feet on an average annual basis over the life of the project for storage or use; and (2) increases groundwater aquifer storage, conveys water to or recovers water from groundwater storage, and stabilizes groundwater levels.Next, it extends Reclamation's authority to carry out the grant program for another five years.